Estimated population of Gaya. Rank 5 of 38 in this projection.
2021 projection52.41 lakh
2026 projection56.58 lakh
1.54% annual pace implied by the model’s 2021–2026 values. This is not measured annual growth.
Estimate, source count and method
The source projects 56,57,749 people for 1 March 2026. It uses a district ratio method with Government of India state projection inputs. This is a published estimate, not a new Census enumeration or a live count.
The 2011 Census counted 43,91,418 people here. Literacy, density, rural/urban shares and sex ratio below still refer to 2011; they have not been relabelled 2026.
Annual model pace = ((2026 projection ÷ 2021 projection)^(1/5) − 1) × 100. Displayed lakh values are rounded; calculations use source integers.
The population is a 2011 Census count, not a present-day projection. Literacy is republished to one decimal. Density is the source’s 2011 figure; it is not calculated using the later map.
Rural · 86.8%
38,09,817
Urban · 13.2%
5,81,601
Literacy, by the source’s male/female categories
Literacy · 2011 · republished rounded rates
Category
Rate
Total
63.7%
Male
73.3%
Female
53.3%
Census literacy refers to the population aged seven and above. The total rate is the source’s published rate, not a simple average of male and female rates. Sex ratio comes from the separate Census-labelled DES chart series.
Gross district domestic product · current prices₹36,593.2 crore
Source value: ₹36,59,321 lakh.
Per-capita income · source label₹67,251
2023–24 · rupees per person
Per-capita income is not GDP per person or a household’s earnings. These are current-price figures for 2023–24. They have not been adjusted for inflation or carried forward to 2026.
Annual production, metric tonnes · season breakdown not supplied
Crop
Production (tonnes)
Rice
3,52,867
Wheat
1,67,763
Maize
7,208
All cereals (includes the rows above)
5,30,928
Rice, wheat and maize are components of the cereals total. Do not add the total to those components. The endpoint’s separate “food grain” field is excluded because its period and definition could not be reconciled.
04 / CLIMATE
Rain and warmth. Different records.
Rainfall and temperature have different reference periods and geographic methods. They are shown separately.
Historical station-based district normals, using available records within 1951–2000. The publication’s district geography is not asserted to match the 2021 map. This is not a current rainfall forecast.
Sampling point 24.68978° N, 84.85613° E, chosen on the source polygon. Grid: MERRA-2 native meteorology grid: 0.5° latitude × 0.625° longitude. Seasonal means use equal month weights. Summer model maximum: 46.27 °C. Winter model minimum: 1.41 °C. These extrema are reanalysis model values for the period, not observed station records.
A coarse grid-cell sample, not a district average. We requested 2001–2020 explicitly and checked each response period; the API’s default uses a different period.
05 / PLACES & HERITAGE
Beyond the number.
2016 · PhotographShubhrojit Misra · CC BY-SA 4.0Resized for this page; original source and reuse terms linked above.
Branches frame the temple tower in this 2016 photograph. Mahabodhi is a World Heritage site, but it is also a place people continue to visit for worship. Its age and its present use belong in the same account.
Dungeshwari, also called the Mahakala caves, is a cave and shrine complex in the Gaya area. Hindu and Buddhist shrines share the site. Buddhist tradition associates these caves with the period of austerities before the Buddha reached Bodh Gaya. A shrine to the goddess Dungeshwari gives the place its other religious association.
That table totals 70 sites for Bihar. A newer March 2026 reply reports 71 statewide, without a district crosswalk. We keep the dated district figures instead of labelling them current.
Read 11 named entries from the NMA/ASI list
Ancient Stupa and other remains locally known as Sujata garhBakraur · source district: Gaya
Ancient mounds in the valley known as “Hasra Kol”Bishunpurtarwa, Hasra and Jagdishpur · source district: Gaya
Ancient mouds in the hill known as ‘Sobhnath’Bishunpurtarwa, Hasra and Jagdishpur · source district: Gaya
Ancient Buddhistic image and other images and sculptures collected underneath a shedGuneri · source district: Gaya
Siva templeKonch · source district: Gaya
Sculptures of various Hindu deities carved on the southern and eastern faces of some rocks and boulders of Kauwadol HillKurisarai · source district: Gaya
Sculptures of various Hindu deities carved on the face of an isolated round boulder separated by a distance of 12 feet from the south-eastern corner of the Kauwadol Hill.Kurisarai · source district: Gaya
Sculptures of various Hindu deities carved on the northern -eastern faces of some rocks of Kauwadol Hill.Kurisarai · source district: Gaya
Sculptures of four Hindu deities one on each side of an oblong isolated boulder to the east of the Kauwadol Hill.Kurisarai · source district: Gaya
The whole of the ancient ruins on which there are a colossal statute of Buddha, a few loose sculptures and thirteen sand stone pillars.Kurisarai · source district: Gaya
The area generally known as ‘Garh’Kurkihar · source district: Gaya
Undated source list; district names retained as printed and may be historical. These names are not a present-day geographical reassignment. NMA source & limitations.
06 / GEOGRAPHY
The lines on the page.
River lines in this map
No named centreline in this small-scale river source intersects the district shape.
Names reflect a geometric intersection of two approximate map datasets. This is not a complete river inventory; absence here does not mean absence of rivers. “Ganges”, “Ghäghara” and “Sapt” are the source’s labels.
Approximate mapped area · 2021 source
5,010 km²
East–west envelope span
113.9 km
Map-derived area is not the official Census area and is not used as the denominator for population density. The span is not a road distance. Geographic methods.
07 / EVIDENCE
Keep the source with the fact.
This page combines a 2011 demographic snapshot, 2023–24 income, 2024–25 crop output, a 2024 product list and separate historical climate series. It does not describe one common year.
Male/female population counts, workforce and religion are not available in this edition. Rounded sex ratios are not used to reconstruct counts.
Sources retrieved 25 October 2026. Bihar Unpacked is independent; source attribution does not imply government endorsement. Reuse terms differ between layers.